Backstroke Prowess Leads Penn State to Sweep of Army
Penn State relied on its depth in men’s backstroke to tilt the balance in a tight meet with Army on Friday night.
The Nittany Lions’ men’s squad prevailed, 156.5-143.5, in a taut affair. The Penn State women won by a wider margin at 183-117.
Backstroke made the difference. Cooper Morley won the 100 back for the Lions in 48.08 seconds. He was followed by Lachlan Byrne and Jack Harvey, with Matthew Bittner fourth in an exhibitioned swim for good measure. The 200 was quite so demonstrative. But Harvey won in 1:48.97, with Byrne six tenths back in second.
Morley’s leadoff leg of 22.50 staked Penn State to a lead it wouldn’t relinquish in the 200 medley relay. Mariano Lazzerini, Victor Baganha and Byrne rounded out a quartet that went 1:28.67 to win.
The closeness of the meet was underscored by the concluding 200 free relay, in which the A squads tied for the win in 1:21.13. Tylor Kim, Baganha, Morley and Lazzerini comprised Penn State’s foursome, Baganha dropping a race-best 19.77. Owen Harlow, Ben Vorthmann, Kohen Rankin and Thomas Hadji were Army’s four, Harlow putting the Black Knights out front by a half second in 20.32 off the front.
Eduardo Cisternas dominated distance for Penn State, winning the 1,650 and 500 free. Baganha won the 50 free in 20.14 by .07 over Harlow, then captured the 100 butterfly in 47.91. Kim won the 100 free. Hayden Elliott swept diving, scoring 358.05 on 1-meter and 357.60 on 3-meter.
Rankin won a pair of outstanding races over Lazzerini in breaststroke. The Army sophomore got the measure of Lazzerini by .39 seconds in the 100, winning in 54.04. It was just two tenths in the 200, Rankin holding off a late charge in 1:59.45.
Wes Tate bested Kim in the 200 free with a time of 1:38.01. He was second in the 500. Jack Pogue won the 200 fly in 1:47.90. Alex Edwards (1:49.87) edged teammate Kalvin Hahn by .11 seconds to win the 200 individual medley, but the charge came too late for the Black Knights.
On the women’s side, the Nittany Lions’ sweep of freestyle guided the victory. Cat Stanford won the 50 free in 23.39 seconds and the 100 in 51.07. The 200 and 500 went to Catherine Meisner in 1:49.58 and 4:57.86. Third in the 500 was Morgan Moore, who had won the 1,650 to start the meet.
Stanford anchored Penn State’s win in the 200 medley relay and swam the third leg on the victorious 200 free relay. Ellie Brandbergh and Carly Sebring joined her on both quartets.
Brandbergh won the 100 back in 55.61, a 1-2 result with Molly Carson. She was second to Sebring (56.08) in what proved a decisive podium sweep of the 100 fly. Daphne Wils scored 320.25 points to win 1-meter diving. Second to her was Kailey Koval, who topped the field on 3-meter with 387.93.
Army scored a decisive victory in breaststroke. Catriona Gilmore edged teammate Aurelie Migault in the 100 with a time of 1:02.69. They reversed places in the 200, Migault winning in 2:17.12. Gilmore just outtouched Meisner in the 200 IM, winning in 2:04.25.
Melinda Zhang won the 200 fly for Army. Layne Peterson was tops in the 200 back.